Negotiations
by NettieC
Summary: Mac is definitely not happy and Harm is in the firing line. What has he done this time?


Disclaimer: They don't belong to me; I'm just playing with them.

This is just to brighten up the weekend. It's a response to the HBX January challenge.

For Nat and Kathy - I trust your instincts...9 to go

Packing up the last of his things for the evening, Harm glanced up in time to see Mac crossing the bullpen; a very angry, irate Mac, who was on a definite mission and clearly heading towards him.

He cringed and tried to scan his memory for anything he may or may not have done, said or even thought in recent times to warrant being on the end of the marine storm about to make a direct hit on his office.

"Mac," he said warmly, opening the door before she could pound her fist into the woodwork. "Come in." She brushed past him and waited til he shut the door before turning to him, her eyes locking on his as he shifted uneasily under her glare.  
"Um, Mac," he began calmly. "Something I can do for you?" he asked, avoiding the 'what's wrong' question, in case she decided to be very explicit about her answer.  
"Tell me you didn't do it?" she hissed. "Tell me it wasn't you and I'll turn around and walk out now."  
"It wasn't me who what?" he asked, unsure as to what he was been called on.  
"Cresswell!" she snapped.  
"What about him?" Harm asked and it only served to infuriate Mac further, something he was desperately trying to avoid.  
"What about him? What about him?" she yelled, not caring her voice was carrying into the bullpen. "Are you the one who told Cresswell I needed 'restricted duties'?" she asked, using her fingers to air quote the words abhorrent to her.  
"Well, Mac," he began cautiously. "It may have come up in our conversation earlier.  
"Where do you get off telling Cresswell what I do or don't need? Hey?" she seethed, clenching her fists. "God, sometimes, Harm, I just want to slap you."

Turning on her heel she stormed out, letting the door slam behind her. She had had enough of Harm and his interference. True, she hadn't been feeling the best lately. True, she'd logged countless hours in her recent case. And true, she hadn't been sleeping lately. But there was nothing really new in that and he had no business taking it to Cresswell.

At home, after a long soak in a bubble bath, Mac climbed into her bed and nestled between her crisp, white sheets. Plumping the pillow to make it more comfortable, she had just found the perfect position when there was a knock on the door. She ignored it; the first time, the second time and the third time. When her cell rang, she checked the caller ID to confirm what she already knew; it was Harm.  
The knocking on the door continued, as to did the ringing of her cell phone, then her home phone. While she could ignore it, Mr Baker from next door couldn't and yelled a string of obscenities down the hallway. Not wanting to get into a neighbourhood dispute, Mac got up and opened her door.  
"What?" she asked bluntly, folding her arms across her chest.  
"Please, Mac," he began quietly. "Let me in."  
"No," she retorted. "Say what you have to say and then go."  
"Please, Mac," he pleaded. "This is not a conversation I want to have in your doorway."  
"Fine," she growled. "You have four minutes." She stepped aside to let him pass.  
"Four minutes?" he echoed, moving past her and turning to face her as she leant against her now closed door.  
"Three minutes and thirty seven seconds…" she commented.

"Okay," he began; realising time was clearly of the essence. "Cresswell called me into his office this morning as he had a few things he wanted to discuss. He made the comment that you hadn't been looking well lately and I agreed. He asked me what I thought you would think about taking some leave; I said I didn't know if you would be interested in that…"

"Two minutes and forty eight seconds," she said when he paused.

"So, then he said that after everything you've been through recently that maybe restricted duty might be the answer," Harm continued in a rush. "I said I wasn't sure about that either but of the two that that would probably be the best received."

"Two minutes and nine seconds," she commented.

"So you see," he continued. "I didn't actually suggest or endorse any changes to your workload. It was Cresswell. I didn't bring it up, he did." He held up his hands to surrender. "The defence rests!" he smiled. "And I believe I still have about ninety seconds."

"Eighty three, actually," she replied, before taking a calming breath. "So, you're telling me this wasn't your fault?"

"No, it wasn't, Mac, not at all," he smiled; glad she was finally seeing his side.

"Okay," she nodded. "Sorry… when Cresswell spoke to me I was under the impression it was more you than him."

"Well, you could have just asked me?" he replied with a smile. "It wouldn't have been a problem and we would have avoided all this drama."

"Drama?!" she seethed. "Just because I'm justifiably upset, it's drama?"

"No, Mac," he sighed. "You just wouldn't have made this my problem, my fault."

"Well, you know what?" she yelled storming into the kitchen. "It is your problem."

Knowing he was dicing with danger, Harm shook his head and followed her anyway. Leaning on the door jamb, he watched as she leant on the bench.  
"What's my problem?" he asked softly, thinking it was the least likely tone to get him knocked into next week.  
"Everything," she sighed, not turning to face him.  
"Tell me," he asked, not moving, although he wanted to go and hold her and shake some sense into this whole situation.  
"Me; tired, crabby, difficult to have around – me!" she growled softly.  
"How is that my problem?" he asked, moving to lean on the bench alongside her.  
"You're the one who got me pregnant," she whispered, still not believing the words were actually true.

Harm was stunned. Mac took the chance to walk into the living room. She was sitting on the sofa, knees drawn to her chest before Harm came to his senses and joined her.  
"You're pregnant?" he asked, sitting alongside her, turning his body to face her. She nodded, tears trickling down her face. "Well, that's wonderful, isn't it?" he asked, caressing her face. She nodded again. "So, why the tears?" he asked.  
"Because I'm hormonal and emotional and excited and scared to death and … and …" she gasped, the words overwhelming her.  
"Hey, hey," he soothed, wrapping himself around her and holding her close. "Take a breath."

She did, a couple of short, quick breaths as she tried to compose herself.  
"Deeper breaths, honey," he soothed, gently rubbing her back and trying to breathe for her. "That's it."  
Slowly, he could feel her arms move and encircle his neck. When her hands connected she drew herself onto him as he resettled himself so he could hold her securely. Along with a million thoughts racing through his mind about little MacKenzie-Rabb, he couldn't understand why Mac was in such a state. This was something he knew she desperately wanted; he desperately wanted. They had spent the best part of the last twelve months discussing it and the last six months in serious 'negotiations' to achieve their baby deal. Now, it was actually happening, he couldn't fathom her response.

When at last she was composed, he leant down and kissed her forehead. He went to speak but she pressed her finger against his lips.  
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This isn't anything like I'd imagined."  
"No need to apologise, Mac," he replied.  
"You must think I'm crazy. I mean I want this baby and we've been trying for six months and everything…"she trailed, looking up at him.  
"And now?" he asked, praying she hadn't changed her mind about the whole thing. She went to break away but he held just as tight, she wasn't getting away again, not this time.

Flashback.

After a fun-filled Thanksgiving at the Roberts' house, Mac contemplated her own future as Harm drove her home through the quiet streets.  
"You're so quiet, Mac," he observed, ten minutes into their journey when she hadn't spoke. "Anything wrong?"  
"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Just thinking.'  
"Anything you want to share?" he asked, glancing at her.  
"Same old stuff," she sighed, leaning her head against the window.  
"Like?" he prompted, concerned by the change in her mood since they had departed the Roberts'. She'd been happy and smiling and full of energy all day, now it seemed an effort for her to sit up in her seat.  
"Family … kids … lack thereof…" she said slowly.  
"Oh," he replied. As much fun as it was spending time with the four young Roberts, he knew it always pained her to be leaving them.  
"Yeah," she sighed deeply. "Oh."

That was the first night they actually sat down in Mac's apartment and discussed their expired baby deal. It was a long discussion with more questions than answers. Both were in agreement that they would think about it all and gather more information, Mac had an upcoming appointment with her OBGYN in January and she invited Harm to accompany her.

In Harm's heart and mind, he always believed the 'baby deal' would be a way of getting what he wanted, Mac and a child. Despite everything they had been through, the ebbs and flows of their relationship, he still found it too hard to pursue anything romantic with her. When they started their discussion, he put all his energy into the baby, hoping that somewhere along the way, Mac would open her heart to him as well.

Little did he know, Mac had been having similar thoughts. She knew how hard it had been just to sustain a functional relationship with Harm over the decade she'd known him. She knew how easy their plans could be obliterated if they got too close, so she focussed on aspects she could have some control over; conception being the first one.

With the odds still against them, but both conceding the natural method was probably the nicest way for a baby to be conceived, more for themselves than the baby, they, with Mac's OBGYN, set a schedule for sex, which would see them in bed on several occasions when she was ovulating.

With both trying to ignore the emotional connection they had, they settled on hotel rooms to try and depersonalise the whole thing. As much as she wanted too, Mac realised having sex in Harm's bed would be just too difficult, she'd never want to get out … and Harm knew he'd never want her to leave.

So the first time was April, then May, both times failed. When Mac's period was a couple of days late in June, she allowed herself the hope that the unthinkable had happened. She knew it wasn't really a possibility, she'd never been regular but this was a glimmer of hope and she clung to it. Alas, when her period started one Friday afternoon while she was still at JAG Headquarters she was more disappointed than she had expected to be.

When she looked out the door, she realised why. Harm. With six months of discussions and three months of 'negotiations' as they had coded it, he still hadn't made a move on her. They were still friends and they were having sex and she wanted him in her life forever but felt as if she was just an appointment in his busy schedule.

"Mac," he said, coming into her office, unaware of recent events. "Bud said…" He stopped and looked at her. "Are you okay? You look terrible?"  
"Terrible? I look terrible?" she demanded, getting to her feet. "Go to hell!" she yelled storming from her office to the ladies bathroom. Harm stood there for several minutes trying to figure out what had just happened. He'd called in to ask her to dinner, his intention was to see if she would consider dating him.  
"Go to hell?" he muttered to himself.  
"Why are you going there, sir?" Jennifer Coates asked.  
"Ah, nothing," he replied. "Did you need something?"  
"Colonel MacKenzie, actually," she replied. "This is her office."  
"Well, she's not here," he responded.  
"I can see that, sir. Do you know where I can find her? It is rather pressing," she said, glancing around the bullpen.  
"Um, I think she's just gone to the break room," he replied. "She shouldn't be long."

The next time Harm saw Mac, it was when she was standing in the doorway of his apartment, at two in the morning.  
"C'mon in, Mac," he yawned as he opened the door.  
"No, no, I'm fine. This won't take long," she said, staring at her shoes.  
"Okay," he said slowly.  
"I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier – in my office, I was out of line," she apologise, quickly glancing up to meet his eyes.  
"You want to tell me what I said that was so wrong?" he asked, still unsure of the whole episode.  
"You said I looked terrible," she repeated, ashamed at her overreaction.  
"All I meant was you didn't look well and I was concerned," he said, reaching out to rub her arm.  
"Yeah, I know," she nodded. "I guess I was a bit emotional and overreacted, sorry."  
"Are we still friends?" he asked, a soft smile on his lips.  
"Sure," she replied, her smile not coming as easily.  
"Look, Mac, I promise I'll try and be more sensitive and you try and be less, okay?" he vowed, taking hold of her shoulders.  
"Well, you know," she started, a trace of humour back in her eyes. "You try and be more sensitive and I won't have to be less."  
"That's a deal," he grinned. He knew Mac had been on an emotional and hormonal rollercoaster in recent months, the least he could do was to try and be a little more tactful and find better adjectives to use than 'terrible'.  
"Okay," she smiled. "Now that's settled, I'll let you go back to bed."  
"Why don't you stay?" he offered. "You are tired and you can go home first thing." Ill prepared for an overnight stay, Mac shook her head.  
"No, not this time," she replied. "But I do appreciate the offer."

July's negotiations were halted when Harm was sent away on investigation before things resumed for August and September. Mac was becoming more and more despondent with the negative results and after the September negotiations had ended in a screaming match, Mac had decided that a new technique was necessary.

Now, in November, Mac was cradled in Harm's lap, pregnant and an emotional wreck.

"Mac, I don't understand what we even argued about last month," he said. "But I'm sorry."  
"It was all my fault," she replied, tears filling her eyes once more.  
"Explain it to me?" he asked, surprised she was letting him hold her like he was.  
"You walked me up here after our last negotiation," she said and he nodded. "I asked you to come in and you said no. You had another early appointment in the morning. And I realised that's all this was between us – appointments and negotiations. I guess in my little fairytale I imagined that somewhere along the line with all this you would fall in love with me and we'd get a happily ever after. I was deluding myself, it was just another appointment." She squeezed her eyes tight, not wanting her tears to betray her.

"Firstly," he began, his thumb caressing her face. "If you had of let me finish my sentence that night, the whole thing was I had another early appointment the next morning with Dr Alpin..." He watched her eyes open. Dr Alpin was their fertility doctor whom they had seen together a few times, and Harm had seen independently, making his appointments very early in the day so he didn't need to take time off. "I have never considered any of this an obligation or an appointment … I've considered it the best chance to get what I want in my life."

Mac continued to stare at him from the comfort of his arms. "Secondly," he soothed. "There was no chance that I'd fall in love with you over these months …because that happened years ago. If I was being truthful and really wanted to examine my life, I'd have to say that the only reason I made the baby deal with you in the first place was because I was already in love with you and thought this was a chance to get what I always wanted – you and a baby. And we know we made that deal a long, long, long time ago now. So, I've been yours for a longer than these negotiations."

The tears trickled down her cheeks, not believing the words she was hearing.  
"So, you love me?" she asked, needing clarification.  
"I love you, Mac," he confirmed with a kiss to her forehead.  
"Well, I love you, Harm," she replied. "And it's why I agreed to the baby deal too." He reached down to kiss her forehead again.

After long moments of intense gazes, Harm spoke again.  
"So, we did it … we're pregnant!" he beamed. "Which negotiation did it?" he asked, suitably proud of himself.  
"August's did," she replied, moving to sit up.  
"Well, then," he smiled. "I vote that's what we call Junior," he said, rubbing her still flat belly.  
"I like it," she grinned, standing up.  
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked as he tugged her arm.  
"Just needed to get more comfortable," she replied, ditching her robe, and straddling his lap.

As her body melded into his, his lips claimed hers and the embers which had been left smouldering under the pressure of everything else, finally got the oxygen source they needed to burst forth. Sparks exploded as lips and mouths and tongues and hands collided and explored the other. Blowing away any illusion that Harm and Mac would ever just negotiate again.


End file.
